Acid Storm (NDE)
When it was formed, not every Decepticon chose to join the New Decepticon Empire. There were those that felt that they would not be welcome in the new order for various reasons, and so, chose to drop out of sight or go into hiding. Others knew that to return was risk persecution for their part in the downfall of the old Decepticon order, regardless of any actual involvement. Instead, they knew they would be seen as guilty by association. Acid Storm is one such case. One of the Seekers who served under Starscream and thus by extension Megatron, they were a part of the Nemesis crew who were marooned on Earth. After they were reactivated alongside their fellows, and given new alternate modes to allow them to operate on this strange new world. While finding Earth to be a distinctly alien environment, Acid Storm relished the opportunities that the world presented them with and the opportunities to use what it offered in their work. At first, they seemed to prosper under Megatron’s leadership. Working with what Earth had to offer they developed a number of new chemical weapons for use against both the Autobots and the humans who they were aligned with. Along with the other Seekers, Acid Storm was the spearhead of the Decepticons’ efforts to conquer the world and plunder it of its abundant resources. For them, these early days were some of the best of their life. However, Acid Storm began to see things changing for the worse after Megatron resumed contact with Cybertron. As he began to become more and more focused on destroying Optimus Prime, his schemes became more and more grandiose and at the same time, ever increasingly impractical. Acid Storm found themselves marginalized, their functional and practical ideas pushed aside in favor of impractical and wasteful doomsday weapons and schemes, ones that served only to drain resources and waste efforts that would have been better spent elsewhere. Megatron’s resuming control over the Decepticon empire only seemed to accelerate this process. His growing mania threatened to consume the entire empire, and yet, nobody seemed to be able or willing to stop him. At the same time, the Autobots were becoming emboldened, using Megatron’s failures against him to tear down the empire. While they were still under Starscream’s command, Acid Storm did their best to distance themselves from him, instead deliberately losing themselves in the crowd. Their planning paid off as the empire came crashing down. Losing themselves in the chaos, Acid Storm fled Cybertron, instead returning to Earth to take refuge. While hardly an optimal choice, they also felt that it was better than fleeing into the unknown depths of space, or risking their existence on whatever new order may emerge from the ashes. They knew that regardless of who took power, there would need to be some accounting for what had happened, and that those who were close to Megatron would feel the full force of the blame. Once back on Earth, Acid Storm took up residence in a secluded location where they simply continued their research on developing new exotic weapons. Eventually, they were forced to confront certain realities, and needed to gather resources as well as fuel to survive. This lead to an odd situation where they were hiring themselves out as a mercenary to humans. Mainly (but not exclusively) operating in their jet mode, Acid Storm would be employed to destroy their enemies in exchange for fuel and other resources. They also found that this was a great opportunity to test out some of their new weapons. Eventually, Acid Storm discovered that they were not alone; in fact, there were other Decepticons that had taken refuge on Earth. Most of them had chosen to lie low, doing what they could to simply survive and evade detection. One of them in particular caught their interest, being their fellow Seeker, Thundercracker. Risking detection, they reached out and made contact with him, the pair of them forming an alliance. Through him and others, they learned that while a new Empire had formed, its leaders had chosen to use Megatron and his supporters as scapegoats for the collapse of the old order. As they had suspected, those that had been close to him were being rounded up and either publicly executed for their supposed crimes, or suffering other fates. Through Thundercracker, they learned that fellow Seeker Skywarp was among them, having apparently been sold out by Starscream and then subsequently ‘disappeared’. Having had their choice to flee to Earth validated, Acid Storm chose to continue as they had been doing. However, they were now working with Thundercracker, who served as a partner and wingman, helping to add muscle to their mercenary operations. So far, the pair of them have managed to evade the Autobots, as well as any Decepticons seeking to reclaim wayward members of their empire. Personality Acid Storm is often mistaken for being just another dumb Seeker, a mistake that they actively play on. They rarely speak, preferring to instead stay in the background. During the years of the old Empire, they were adept at blending into crowds and going unnoticed, however under modern circumstances, this is rarely an option. Instead, they are a careful planner, doing their best to read and understand a situation before committing to it. While a warrior by training, Acid Storm’s real talent lies in weapons design. They are an expert at the creation of chemical weapons, especially those of a more unusual design or execution. While their most infamous was a highly corrosive acid rain, they have created numerous others over the years. Being stranded on Earth has not hampered their research; rather, Acid Rain enjoys using the various chemicals found on the planet, including those created through the functions of its inhabitants, in their work. Capabilities Acid Storm is a Seeker, built using the same body type as innumerable other Decepticons. Their performance generally tended towards the middle of the range for the body type; neither particularly strong nor weak, agile nor clumsy and so on. While they are armed with the typical Seeker payload of laser cannons and cluster bombs, their true advantage lies in their own creations. Acid Storm field tests their own weapons, usually using their jet mode to aid in their dispersal. The wide range of weapons they have created give them a tremendous range of capabilities, including weapons designed to kill, maim, cripple, incapacitate and so on. Category:Characters Category:Decepticons Category:New Decepticon Empire Category:Seekers Category:Males Category:Females